A brick building that sheltered pregnant and parenting young women in Charleston's Wagener Terrace neighborhood for nearly 100 years has been reborn as nine townhomes, with two units listed at $1.179 million each. The property at 19 St. Margaret St., long home to the Florence Crittenton Home, is now Tharin House.
The development, now called Tharin House, sits on St. Margaret Street off Upper Rutledge Avenue near Hampton Park, according to the Post and Courier, whose Teri Errico Griffis reported on the conversion. Flyway Companies, a development, construction and real estate management company, has started selling the nine residences, according to SCBiz. Two units, numbered 2 and 7, are currently for sale, each spanning roughly 1,300 square feet with two bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
From Dormitory-Style Building to Nine Private Residences
For years, the building served as the Florence Crittenton Home, providing residential services to young mothers. The former home has been adaptively reused as nine residences.
The building was restored while preserving its historic character and divided into nine separate units, now offering one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans ranging from about 1,200 to 1,604 square feet. The residences are two-story.
The residences include dedicated off-street parking. Flyway previously renovated the Refinery.
Honoring the Woman Behind the Mission
Claudia Gordon Tharin, a women's advocate and suffragist based in Charleston, founded the Christlove Mission in 1897. Young Moms Together says Tharin responded after reading about a young woman's suicide attempt.
Young Moms Together says the Florence Crittenton Home and Hospital began construction at 19 Saint Margaret Street with financial support from Crittenton. The building later became the Charleston chapter of the Florence Crittenton Home, which provided a safe haven for unwed mothers.
Why the Nonprofit Moved On
Young Moms Together, the nonprofit that grew out of the Florence Crittenton legacy, says on its website that it sold its historic home on St. Margaret Street to create something more flexible, dignified and aligned with the lives of today's young mothers. The organization says it remains the only program in South Carolina providing comprehensive care for teen mothers from pregnancy through their child's first two years, pointing to its own figures that every day in the state, 19 girls under 19 learn they are pregnant, with eight of those pregnancies resulting in a birth.
With two units listed at $1.179 million each, Flyway has begun selling the Tharin House residences. The building that once served its purpose for almost 100 years as a refuge for young mothers now carries that history forward under a new name, built around the same person who started it all more than a century ago.
